How Far Do You Consider Gatsby To Be The Epitome Of The American Dream And Its Failure Essay, Research Paper

The Great Gatsby is a book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is set in

the nineteen twenties in the unique narrative style which is that he is writing

about a fictional character called Nick Carraway writing a book about a man

called Jay Gatsby who he feels was a man ? who represented everything for which

I have an unaffected scorn.Gatsby is a very rich yet contradictory character, He is portrayed

throughout the novel as being heroic person because during the war her received

a medal from ?every allied country? the medal symbolizes some of the best and

most noble traits of human nature such as valour, honor and bravery but in an

extreme case of dramatic irony such a heroic man he cannot raise the courage to

engage Daisy. Another side of Gatsby?s contradictory nature is the idealistic

way he chases Daisy as well as the fulfillment of his dream yet he is extremely

reckless in the way he confronts Tom and lets Tom release the figurative ghosts

that are Gatsby?s past life especially his criminal activities. Maybe

Fitzgerald designed Nick?s view of Gatsby in such a way that he is mocking him

and the American dream.Many critics don?t view Gatsby in this way; they see him as a criminal

who obtained wealth through crime and contacts more commonly associated with

the gangster era in the 1960?s. Even though he is very wealthy he is always

seen as number two to Mayor Wolfshiem and this adds to the sinister undertones

in the novel yet Gatsby appears to be very European importing fine clothes and

cars as well as living in a mansion based on a French model maybe this is used

to add a touch of class to this criminal element of his life.My personal view of Gatsby is that he is ?the epitome? of the American

dream, he is very noble, courageous and a ?self made man? but he is naÏve in

believing that hard work and perseverance is all you need to achieve everything

you want. He also has a large attachment to the past and he believes he can

change it ?Can?t repeat the past? he said incredulously? ?of course you can? as well as this he has a

large picture of Dan Cody the man who made him what he. This could be linked

back to my early comment in that Gatsby is trying to replicate the so-called

?old style aristocrats? which supposedly had everything that wanted. I think Gatsby acts in this way because before he achieved his fortune

and was with daisy he believed they truly happy and the fact he attempts to

commit suicide during the war lends itself to this. The basis of the American

dream is wealth, happiness and freedom and by the American constitution every

citizen is entitled to this. Another irony is that Gatsby has always had two of

these ideals but never the third one to make him truly complete and he believes

Daisy is the key.Nicks view of Gatsby is very important as he is the narrator and he

appears to be one of the few people that actually likes and respects Gatsby as

a person and not for what he owns. Nick uses very figurative language to

describes Gatsby?s personality and character by saying ?If personality is an

unbroken series of successful gestures then there was something gorgeous about

him,? Gatsby appears to be a man who genuinely cares and has this the

reoccurring ?smile? which appears to be very assuring to the other characters

especially Nick. I believe Gatsby is a very confused person who does have some

?heightened sensitivity to the promise of life? where as some people critics

perceive this and Gatsby?s whole image is a show, which hides his true persona

that, which is that of a criminal. This is also backed by Fitzgerald?s

foreshadowing Gatsby?s dark secret, which is why he is never shown in sunlight

but this could be interpreted as a way of hiding for the ghosts that haunt

Gatsby. ? Gatsby is outwardly an ideal candidate for the American dream; at the

time he would have been considered a true gentleman due to his supposed

upbringing and wealth. He started from nothing but constantly strived to

improve himself as the extract from Gatsby?s diary shows yet no matter how hard

he tries he can truly enter the world of the aristocracy this relates to Nicks

view that he had ?a platonic conception? of himself this is a brilliant

comparison to Gatsby as Plato said that the nobility had a soul of gold and the

working class had a soul of bronze and that no matter how hard you tried you

could never move to another class.Beneath this flash exterior, he has a very different persona, he is a

shy and lonely which is the main reason he holds these lavish party?s to hide

this and it is a brilliant use of dramatic irony to show that Gatsby is a

unhappy man These factors aren?t really the reason Gatsby fails to achieve his

dreams. The more important factors of Gatsby?s failure are his, naivety,

loyalty, Tom and Daisy.His wealth and loyalty are two qualities that escalated his failure,

Firstly his great wealth isolated him from society, although he held these

parties he was never a part of them because of his loyalty and love towards

Daisy, Gatsby is so enthralled by this women he can even recall the date the

last meet ?five years in November? like a love sick puppy but this could also

been seen as a role reversal as usually it is the women who remember such

things and the men who forget.Daisy, Nicks cousin is portrayed as being a well educated women married

to a rich man called Tom Buchanan. Daisy is always shown or being described as

white or silver these are associated with innocence and purity and this is

reflected in her character and the fact that she can?t decide between Tom or

Gatsby and it was decision that brought about the failure of his dream and as

Nick says it ?Must have seem so close he could he could hardly fail to grasp

it.? Gatsby unshakable belief that you can change the past and some say his

will to live but it was Tom Buchanan?s Very nature and arrogance that ended

Gatsby?s life. At the time Gatsby would have been seen as ?New money? and

therefore alienated from the aristocrats who had inherited their money from

there parents. Fitzgerald was often referred to as the laureate of the jazz age

his book to symbolize ?The roaring twenties,? and during this time as with

today money is power and power is a supposed to be a major aphrodisiac for

women and I think that is the main reason behind him driving Gatsby car as well

as trying to show off.?Perhaps Tom had not taken

Gatsby?s car so he enhance his image, Myrtle would not have run towards the car

and who she thought was Tom. The accident itself may still have happened but Gatsby

would not be involved and may have won the girl after all. My personal opinion

is that Gatsby and Myrtle are quite similar they both wish to gain happiness

and power through marriage although these appear in different forms and it is

this desire that leads to both there deathsGatsby lived for and breathed for the American dream and some critics

say that when he lost Daisy he was essentially a corpse waiting to die but

would he have recovered from this blow like he did during war. Although some

critics believe that there was no inner meaning to this novel I think that it

shows us that money cannot buy use happiness not even in the Land of hope and

glory.The Great Gatsby is considered to be Fitzgerald?s greatest work because

of it simplicity where as his other works such as ?tales of the jazz age? were

fatally flawed. The books its self was Fitzgerald reflection on the his era and

I believe it is and deserves the title of a ?literary classic. ??